Yeah, Steve wouldn't be groundbreaking like Pac Man, Sonic, Cloud, or Snake, given that minecraft is on every device in existence.
my criteria for third parties which is based on Sakurai's criteria
1. Be one of the biggest icons in gaming whose franchise carries game history (Cloud/Final Fantasy, Snake/Metal Gear, Sonic/Sega, Pac Man with arcade gaming)
or
2. Be so close to Nintendo that you are/were practically Nintendo. Like having multiple titles be exclusive for more than a generation so people associate the franchise with Nintendo. (Bayonetta and Banjo/Kazooie)
3. Both (Mega Man, Ryu with Street Fighter, Simon with Castelvania,
He doesn't fit the second point because Minecraft is on every device and is more associated with PC gaming, Steve fits the first one, he is one of gamings biggest icons with his game being the second best selling of all time. But Minecraft I don't know, Minecraft doesn't feel as historic like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, or Street Fighter.